Generally, in an automobile, the seats are installed so that the passengers feels safe and comfortable within the limited space of the automobile. Generally, the seats are classified into front seats and rear seats. When in the automobile, passengers directly contact the seats, which may feel cool or warm.
A heater is also generally installed in automobiles for heating a space within the automobile. Often, cooling water heated by the heat of engine is circulated, and a fan driven to blow heat extracted from the water into the automobile. In other words, the external air or internal air is blown into the automobile, extracts heat from the cooling water. The increased temperature air is then discharged through a ventilator for heating the inner space of the automobile.
Such heating apparatuses are very effective for increasing the temperatures within the entire area of the automobile. However, it is often difficult to heat the seats in direct contact with the hip and back of a passenger. In such a case, the passenger typically feels hot on his face, but feels cold on his body portions contacting with the seats.
Furthermore, in the winter season, when an automobile has been parked outside for a long time, and a passenger enters the automobile, the temperature of the inner space of the automobile is relatively low, and the surfaces temperatures of the seats are relatively low. Therefore, when a driver sits on a driver's seat and starts the engine, the driver is often very cold. In this case, the heater often takes a long time to heat up the inner space to a desired temperature at which the driver feels comfortable.
In order to overcome the above problems, apparatuses for heating seats directly have been developed. Typically, some apparatuses use the power of an automobile, and some the engine heat of an automobile.
In addition, in heating apparatuses that use cooling water, it is only possible to heat the seats when the temperature of the cooling water is increased up to a certain degree by the engine after the engine is started. In addition, since the heat from the engine is used, a certain engine loss may occur in the engine. Therefore, the performance and output of the engine may be decreased, thereby reducing the value of the heaters.